Process of treating and producing metal surfaces from which prints may be taken.



No. 739,339. PATENTED SEPT. 22, 1903.

P. NY. PROCESS 0P TREATING AND PRODUCING METAL SURFAGBS PROM WHICH PRINTS MAY BE TAKEN.

APPLIOATION. IILE D JULY 5, 1901.

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Wb'fileqamx i I Even??? i wM J: y 5 2 4 .UNITED STAT-Es iatented September 22,

PAT NT OFFICE.

PAUL NY, OFBERKE'LEY, CALIFORNIA;

PROCESS OF TREATING AND PRODUCING METAL SURFACES FROM WHICH PRINTS MAY BE TAKEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 739,339, dated September 22, 1903. Application filed July 5, 1901. Serial No. 67,244. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL NY, a eitizen of the United States, residing at Berkeley, Alameda county, State of Oaliforniaphave invented a certain new and useful process of treating and producing metal surfaces from which a print may be taken, such as stereotypes, electrotypes, zincographs, half-tones,

engravings, etchings, aluminiumplates, and other similar devices, of which the following is a specification.

Hereinafter whenever the word plate is used it is intended to include and mean'all' been found that a plate when brought in contact with the paper orother substance to be printed through the medium of a printingpress will frequently fail todeposit in certain places the quantity of inkdesired; On

this account it has beenfoundexpedient to make ready by building upthe tympan or cylinder-sheet with paper, paste, or other substances, called overlaysj whereby the impression or force of contact between the print ing-surface or face of the plate and the substance printed is increased and a corresponding increase in the deposit of ink at the particularpoint of placing the overlay is obtained. This task of making ready requires the exercise of much skill and entails considerable expense, and the displacement ,or destruction of the make-ready is frequently the cause of much loss, delay, and annoyance.

My invention consists in building up the printing-surface or face of the plate at'certain points where desired with metal. This I accomplish by covering the portions which 7 I do not desire to build up with some suitable substance which can be easily removed, yet which will closely adhere to and protect the surface so covered from receiving in the course of subsequent operations any deposit of metal and afterward by any of the commonly-known metal-plating methods making a deposit of metal upon the exposed printing-surface or face of the plate.

The accompanying drawings are intended to illustrate my process. 7 r

Figure], divided into four sections lettered stages at the dotted line w w in Fig. 1.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughoutthe several views, figures, and sections. 4 The section lettered A of each figure shows a plate ready for treatment by my process.

The section lettered B of each figure shows the plate after. 'the'protective coat' has been applied.

The section lettered O of each figureshows the plate after the unprotected part has been built up by metallic deposit.

The section lettered D of each figure showsthe plate completed ready for blocking after the exposed portions have been built up by plating and the protective coat has'been removed.

- Letter at shows .the surface to be built up, representing in the drawings a solid or surface that will print dark.

Letter b shows the metallic deposit upon the surface represented by letter a. I

Letter 0 shows a stipple or high-light printing-surface to be protected from any deposit of metal by the protective coat.

Letter 01 shows the protective coat applied to the surface represented by letter 0.

The method of practicing my invention is as follows: I take aplate made ready for blocking by the methods now commonly prietioed and well understood. It is not es-, sential, however, that the plate to be operated upon shall have been'so far finished that it is ready for blocking; but I have obtained the best results in this way. By inspection of the plate or by taking a trial proof from the plate I determine what parts of the plate should be built up. Usually the .parts of a plate which it is desirable to build up are the solids, or parts which willprint dark, as contradistinguished from the high-lights,or parts which will print light. I then with a brush manipulated by hand apply to all parts of the plate which I do not wish to build up a protecting-coat of suitable material, I then Ioo ' I have obtained the best results from the use of black asphaltum varnish applied to the particular surface of the plate which it is desired to protect with a brush or other suitable implement, after which, before it is dry, I sprinkle the varnished surface with as much pulverized resin or dragons blood as will adhere thereto and then heat the whole until the varnish and powder fuse. When cooled, the plate is ready for the metal-plating process. I have also in the same manner used lithographers rolling-ink (mixed with japan for a drier) in lieu of the black asphaltum varnish. I do not Wish to confine myself, however, to the use of these substances, as I am aware that there are many other substances which can be used with excellent if not equal results.

In applying the protective coatI sometimes cover the surface I wish finally exposed for building up with a coating of liquefied gumarabic or other similar substance which will readily dissolve in water, and when dry I apply a coat of lithographers rolling-ink (mixed with japan for a drier) over the entire printing-surface or face of the plate with a roller or other suitable implement. By Washing in water the plate can then be cleansed as to all surfaces to which the gum-arabic was first applied, leaving the ink remaining upon all other surfaces, after which I proceed as hereinbefore described. This method is not so satisfactory as the direct method first herein described of covering only the surfaces which it is desired to protect from the building-up process; but where the solids to be built up are few and the high-lights to be protected are many it is more expeditious.

In depositing a coating of metal upon the exposed surfaces I usually employ the wellknown and commonly-practiced electroplating process used in producing the shell of an electrotype; but I do not confine myself to the deposit of any particular kind of metal or the use of any particular plating process, as other metal than copper can be deposited and other process used with equal effect.

When necessary to cleanse the plate being operated upon in order to insure the perfect adhesion of the metal to be thereafter deposited upon the exposed parts, I first wash the plate in an aqueous solution of cyanid of potassium before applying the protective coat. This solution is in common use for cleansing purposes in metal-plating operations. However, I do not wish to confine myself to the use of this solution nor to be understood as claiming that it is indispensable in all cases to cleanse the plate at all; but I find it far the better practice to cleanse each plate with this solution before commencing operations.

While the plate is immersed in the electroplating-bath, I find it desirable to ascertain from time to time what thickness of metal has been deposited upon the exposed parts of the plate in order to avoid an excessive deposit, which would obviously injure, if not ruin, the plate. This I am able to do by the use of a gage consisting of a small wax pan,

such as is commonly used by electrotypers, immersed in the same bath with the plate under similar conditions. The gage here described has been in common use for many years and is not claimed by me.

By my process, as herein described, I am able to produce inequalities in the printingsurface or face of plates, some portions thereof being higher than others. Variety in inequality of surface may be produced by applying a protective coat to any part of the plate that has been sufficiently built up and then proceeding to further build up other portions. By producingthese inequalities in the printing-surface of the plate I render the make-ready wholly or in large part unnecessary, and at the same time a plate treated by my process will produce a much clearer and better print than a plate not so treated. I have also learned that a plate treated by my process will produce an excellent impression or print when used upon a lithographing-press in connection with the rubber blanket.

In practicing my invention 1 usually deposit upon the exposed surfaces a thickness of metal equivalent to from one tissue to two folios, as the terms are used and understood by pressmen in the art of making ready; but more or less may be deposited, according to the requirements of each particular case and as the good judgment of the op erator dictates. For fine book-work upon calendered paper one tissue will usually sui fice, while for newspaper work the equivalent of at least two folios is usually required.

I am aware that others have attempted to produce the inequalities hereinbefore described upon the printing-surface or face of plates by applying a protective coat to certain portions and by corrosion with acids or other suitable chemical action removing or wasting away the exposed parts; but so far as I am aware this latter process (which I do not claim) has resulted in failure, owing to the obliteration or partial destruction by corrosion of the fine lines and dots intended to produce the high-lights. My process consists in protecting some parts and building up the unprotected parts, while the process which I disclaim consists in protecting certain parts and removing the unprotected parts.

Having thus described my invention, what 739,339 I v r V 8.

I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isi i 1. The herein-described process of building up certain portions of the printing-surface or face of a metal plate from which a print may be taken, by first covering the portions which I do not desire to build up, with some suitable substance which can be easily removed yet will closely adhere to and protect the surface so covered from receiving in the course of subsequent operations any deposit of metal; and afterward by any of the metalplating methods commonly knownv and practiced, making a deposit of metalupon the exposed vprinting-surface or face of the plate, substantially as described.-

2. The herein-described process of building up by any of the metal-plating methods now commonly known and practiced, a part of the printing-surface or face of a metal plate from which a print may be taken without building up the whole of such printing-surface, by first covering the portions which I do not desirewto build up with a protective coat or man- I taken, by covering certain portions with a close-adhering but easily-removable coat or mantle of suitable material, and plating the exposed parts with metal, substantially as described.

PAUL NY.

Witnesses:

BEN. B. 'HAsKELL, JAMES MASON.

i as of a metal plate from which a print may be. 

